PLAY PODCASTS
Dead Man Walking: The US nun who took on the death penalty

Dead Man Walking: The US nun who took on the death penalty

When Helen Prejean wrote to a death row inmate, she had no idea what was coming

Lives Less Ordinary · BBC World Service

July 7, 202445m 7s

Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (open.live.bbc.co.uk) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.

Show Notes

When Sister Helen Prejean agreed to write to a convicted murderer on Louisiana’s death row in 1982, she had no idea what was coming. She would end up becoming his spiritual advisor, eventually accompanying him to his execution two years later. The experience changed her profoundly. She wrote a book about what she'd witnessed on death row, Dead Man Walking, which was turned into a major Hollywood movie in 1995. Forty years later, she has witnessed six more state executions - and is still tirelessly fighting to end them.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Zoe Gelber

Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784